Medical Miracle 2: Recovery
by Hazl
Summary: Your favorite vampire doctor and his lovely assistant are back! Brooke & Carlisle finally have the chance to further their relationship now that Viviene is gone. But a whole new set of challenges await them: jealous love interests, the Volturi, and Brooke's hesitation to be changed. With all this against them, will Brooke & Carlisle regain control of their love story?
1. Chapter 1

Wow, it is hard for me to imagine that I wrapped up the first _Medical Miracle_ in 2009. So much has happened in my life since then that has kept me from writing fan fiction, something that I have always been upset about, since I made promises long ago to write sequels and stories that have never happened.

I recently finished re-reading _Medical Miracle_ for the first time in years. I read all of it in one day, and fell in love all over again with the story that truly started it all for me.

You see, in the years since my last update, I have attended and graduated from college. I now have a BA in Creative Writing and History with a minor in Writing. Since graduation, I've moved away from home, and have started a job writing articles about country music related news and topics.

After re-reading _Medical Miracle_ and all of the lovely reviews I received, even years after I wrote the last chapter, I felt sad that I never wrote the sequel that I promised. Brooke was, and still is, one of my all-time favorite characters that I've ever created, and after I finished re-reading _Medical Miracle_ , I felt I owed it to her to continue her and Carlisle's love story.

So with that being said, I know I've taken a long time to fulfill this promise, but I am finally writing the sequel to _Medical Miracle_! My updates may be few and far between, but I feel I need to do this not only for me, but for all of the fans who read and fell in love with Brooke's story over the years.

Thank you all so much for your continued dedication and support!

 **Explanation of "T" Rating:** When I started writing the first _Medical Miracle_ , I was a young teen, and was hesitant to write any SC or swear words into my story mainly out of fear that my parents would see and ask what in the world I was writing, haha. Also, at the time my knowledge of more, ahem, adult themes was not all that great. Reading through the old _Medical Miracle_ I couldn't help but laugh at how I tip toed around writing swear words and SC into the story. So with all that being said, I am going to increase the risqué nature of this sequel, and it will contain some minor swearing, violence, and SC/adult themes. But I am sticking with the "T" rating because I still don't intend on going overboard.

 **Genre:** Romance/Drama/Humor

 **Pairings** : Carlisle and other character, Edward and Bella, Emmett and Rosalie, Alice and Jasper, other characters and other characters.

Full Summary: When Brooke Jeffers came to work as a doctor's assistant at Forks Hospital, love was the last thing she thought she would find. But as it turns out, she fell head-over-heels for her boss, a certain attractive, blond doctor named Carlisle Cullen. Eventually, Brooke learned Carlisle was in love with her too, but their relationship faced a series of challenges from the start, including a brief separation, Carlisle's jealous former girlfriend Viviene, and the fact that Brooke is terrified of vampires. After overcoming all of those obstacles, you'd think it would be smooth sailing into a happy ending for Carlisle and Brooke. But their struggles are far from over. This story picks up right where the first Medical Miracle left off, following Carlisle and Brooke's always-challenging relationship. How will their love story end?

 **Author's Notes** : I randomly came up with the idea for this story years ago. I had no idea what to do with Esme to make it possible for Carlisle to be with Brooke. Since I adore Esme, and didn't want to kill her off or have Carlisle cheat on her/get a divorce, in this story I regard Esme as someone who never existed, or at least never crossed paths with Carlisle.  
A few warnings, I like to make up names of towns, colleges, etc. sometimes, so some places I name may not be real places.

I have a limited amount of medical knowledge, but when it comes to medical situations in the story I will do my best to research each one so I can portray them accurately.

 ****I assume I no longer need to provide a spoiler alert for _Breaking Dawn_ details, but just in case, here's your spoiler alert.****

Renesme has not, and never will exist in this story. However, the method through which she was able to exist could be possible in an altered form at some point. Also, if this isn't obvious enough, since Renesme does not exist, Jacob never imprinted on her. Though that isn't too important, since Jacob's role in this story is extremely minor. He never even made a physical appearance in the first story.

If you've never read the original _Medical Miracle_ , you can probably follow this story just fine, but there are some aspects of the story you're simply not going to understand unless you've at least skimmed through the first one. It's a good read, I promise. :)

With that, I hope you all enjoy the far overdo sequel to _Medical Miracle_. This first chapter is going to be a bit of a recap/introduction, but I'll pick things up as I move along in future chapters.

I am so happy to bring Brooke and Carlisle back to all of you. :)

* * *

 **Chapter 1**

When people think of a hospital, the word "life" is not always the first to come to mind. Rather, all of the negative words that can be associated with a hospital seem to pop up first: sickness, disease, injury…death.

But it is true that life can be found within a set of hospital walls. Every day new life is born in hospitals, as babies make their way into the world and take their first breaths.

Every day the loving, caring hands of doctors and nurses help heal the sick and injured, allowing them to walk out the doors with a brand new chance at life.

More than most, I know from personal experience that a hospital can be a place of life, and not solely because it was in a hospital that I was rescued from a near-death experience. No, it isn't that at all.

I found life in a hospital the day I decided to go to one to apply for a job as a doctor's assistant. I found life in a hospital the day I opened the door to that doctor's private office and he smiled at me and said "hello." I found life in a hospital every time that same doctor looked me in the eyes and told me he loved me.

Even though I wasn't looking for it at the time, and certainly didn't want it, I found love in a hospital. And it was that love that granted me the opportunity at a brand new life. Soon, the love and the life I had never wanted became the thing that I would constantly and persistently fight to keep, no matter the cost.

* * *

It was summer again, the same time it was a year prior when I first started my job as the assistant to Dr. Carlisle Cullen at Forks Hospital. If you would have told me at the time that I would one day fall in love with the man I called my boss, I would have laughed in your face.

As a matter of fact, I had many people, including the doctor himself, tell me I was going to fall in love with him. And I did laugh, a lot.

Of course, everyone was right. Despite my best efforts I quickly fell for the gorgeous, blond doctor who by some miracle loved me in return.

If love was enough, our relationship would have been the easiest in history. But there were so many factors working against us. At the time, I thought that he was decades older than me. He had adopted children that were my age. He was my boss. Oh, and there was one big problem by the name of Vivienne, who happened to be his other, insanely jealous girlfriend.

Luckily she was hardly around, so the only thing we had to worry about was maintaining the good doctor's reputation. So we kept our relationship hidden, telling no one but close family members and friends about the arrangement.

Still, there were other challenges on my side that sometimes threw a wrench into things. I moved away from Washington for a short time to take part in the Alaska University spring medical program, something I had dreamed of attending from a young age. The separation was hard enough, but the real challenge came in the form of a suave, hip-hop dancing ladies' man named Adam, who I considered my best friend. He considered me his one true love.

But the greatest conflict between Carlisle and I came in one, simple fact…

I was terrified of vampires.

Carlisle was a vampire.

I didn't know that he was a vampire at first. In fact I didn't know until nearly a year after I met him that the reason he never ate, never slept, had topaz eyes, and was inhumanely handsome is because he was a centuries-old creature of the undead.

After watching a vampire horror film over Halloween, I had reoccurring nightmares of being bitten by one. So when Carlisle finally gathered up the courage to share his secret with me, to say I was terrified would be an understatement. To make matters worse, that same night my beloved grandfather was killed by a vampire, who turned out to be none other than Carlisle's other girlfriend, Vivienne, who was looking for me.

I eventually came to terms with Carlisle's condition, and we were ready to patch things up when Vivienne decided to make a random appearance at the Cullen house. She attacked me before engaging in a battle to the death with Carlisle. Somehow, I managed to climb into his Mercedes and run her over, allowing him to get the upper hand and eliminate her from our lives once and for all.

Although Carlisle survived, I wasn't aware of it until he walked into my hospital room, since I had been unconscious for several days as a result of my injuries. The joy I felt at the sight of him, knowing that we were finally free to love one another is indescribable.

With Vivienne gone, a huge weight was lifted off our shoulders. But as we both knew, it was best if we kept our relationship hidden for a bit longer, purely for the sake of Carlisle's reputation. People had been buzzing about us since day one, but we knew that if we showed too many signs of romance too soon, they would assume we had always been together, and then Carlisle's reputation and job could be at risk.

We figured we could deal with hiding things for a few months more, especially since before Vivienne's death we were mainly hiding things in order to stay alive. Now, there wasn't so much to fear.

Our life together could finally begin.

* * *

It was mid-July, a few months after Vivienne's death and two weeks until I got to take the cast off of my wrist. When my alarm went off to wake me up for work my eyes fluttered open as I stared up at the ceiling of my childhood bedroom.

After my grandfather died, my cousin Sandra and I moved into his mansion, which he left to me in his will. To him, I guess it was only logical to give me the house, since I had grown up there when my grandparents took me in following the death of my parents in a car accident when I was only two years old.

I yawned and stretched, accidentally bumping my injured arm on the bedside table as did so. I screamed out in pain, causing my cat, Fluffy, to look up at me in confusion from where she peacefully rested on my stomach.

"Sorry girl," I said, picking her up and placing her beside me on the bed. She didn't seem pleased that I had moved her, but I had to get up and get around for work.

I went into the bathroom and attempted the daunting task of combing out my blond curls into more controllable waves. After throwing on something to wear and putting on a little bit of makeup, I rushed downstairs to grab one of the banana nut muffins Sandra baked before she left for dance class.

When I chose my small apartment in Seattle, I did so primarily because it was close to where I went to college. But when I learned that grandfather had left me the house, I was more than anxious to move in because it was closer to Forks, which meant it was closer to work, and therefore closer to Carlisle.

Even though I had made the drive to Forks what seems like a thousand times, it never felt any shorter to me. I would always get anxious on the way, desperate to make my way to the wooden door with the shiny, gold plaque that read "Dr. Carlisle Cullen."

It wasn't raining for once, an unusual thing, but was still as cloudy as always, with the sun nowhere to be seen. However, this was something I was grateful for, since I now knew that Carlisle couldn't go out in the sun. I was one of few people, I'm sure, that looked at the weather forecast and cursed whenever I saw sunshine in the lineup.

I pulled into the parking lot of Forks Hospital and whipped into my usual parking spot beside Carlisle's newly repaired black Mercedes. As always, my heart skipped a beat at the sight of the car, and I quickly scooped up my bag and my always-necessary umbrella before starting the trek through the parking lot.

The automatic doors flew open as I approached the lobby, which was surprisingly empty except for a couple of people flipping through magazines off in the corner by an artificial plant and a statue of a bear. Oh, and of course there was Gertrude, the receptionist, who called out the second she saw me.

"Well good morning Brooke!" she said, beaming over the top of her desk.

"Good morning Gertrude," I said with a smile, even though this exchange of pleasantries between the two of us was one of my least favorite parts of the day. All I wanted was to make my way down the hall, inside the office, and into the arms of my doctor.

"Nice day today, isn't it?" she said. "The hubby decided to go fishing today."

"It seems like a good day for that," I said, glancing down the hall. "Maybe he'll bring home a nice catch for you."

"Oh I hope so. I've wanted some fresh fish for so long, but the weather just hasn't been right at all. You know?"

"Yes, I understand." I told her, still glancing down the hall. "Sorry to run so soon, but I know I have a lot of work to get started on. Do you know where Dr. Cullen is this morning?"

To me it sounded weird to call him by his professional name and title. Which I knew was odd, considering the fact that up until a month prior that's what I always called him, even to his face. For so long I found it hard to call him by his first name because somewhere in my mind I still considered him my boss, and I was showing him the respect as such. Plus, as I now knew, it was hard to keep from slipping up and calling him by his first name in front of people at work. But after my near-death experience, it was like a switch flipped inside my brain, and now it felt natural for me to call him by first name.

"Oh yes, he was out here just a few minutes ago," Gertrude said, flailing her hand in the air. "He went off down the hall to do something and look attractive somewhere."

I laughed, "Well thank you Gertrude, I'll try my best to find him."

"No trouble deary!" I heard her call as I basically ran down the hallway, probably looking a bit too eager to get to work. I passed a couple of nurses and that may have said hello but I have no idea if I said anything to them.

As I made my way to the office, I noticed that the door was open. But as I glanced at the large, wooden desk with the mammoth-sized stack of papers I had to file, I was disappointed to see that my "boss" was nowhere to be seen.

"Hmm," I said to myself, putting my purse in its usual place and shrugging on my lab coat. "That's odd."

Suddenly, I heard the door close, and found myself pinned against the wall with a pair of bright, topaz eyes staring into mine.

"Hello darling," he said, placing a series of delicate kisses along my neck.

I sighed and shivered, wrapping my arms around him to draw him closer to me. "I am never going to get used to you showing off your vampire speed around me," I said, as he kissed up the length of my neck before planting a single kiss on my lips.

"It's nice to be able to finally show it off to you," he said, smiling at me as he caressed my cheek.

I shook my head and smiled in return, "What, were you hiding behind the door or something?"

He chuckled, "I thought I'd surprise you."

"Well congratulations, you succeeded, and nearly made me faint in the process."

"Then I would have needed to give you mouth-to-mouth," he said, kissing me again, a bit more passionately this time.

I giggled in between his kisses. "Isn't that what you're doing right now?"

"Perhaps," he said, kissing me a few more times before inching back a little. "I would love to do this all day but…"

"I know, I know, we have a lot of work to do."

My eyes must have darted over to the stack of papers on his desk, because he looked that way. "You don't have to worry about those right now. It's been a mess for days and can be a mess for a few more hours," he said. "Why don't you come along with me while I check on a patient upstairs?"

"Do you like my company, doctor?" I teased.

"Oh no, not in the slightest," he said, leaning in to kiss me once more and making me giggle again. I had a feeling that he would always possess the power to turn me into mush.

"Think we've been in here long enough to make the nurses start whispering?" I asked him, straightening out his lab coat.

"My dear, they started whispering the day you walked in here with an application in your hands."

"True," I said, "but do you think they've whispered enough for this morning?"

He looked toward the door, really seeming to contemplate what I said before he turned back to me, brushing his lips against mine as he spoke.

"Let them whisper just a while longer," he said, kissing me again.

As far as I was concerned, they could whisper for all eternity.

* * *

 **Wow, I can't begin to tell all of you how good it felt to be in Brooke's head again. I apologize for the slow start, but I felt like that was the best way to kick this thing off.**

 **I will try my best to update at least once a week, but with my busy schedule and intense writing commitment that I have for work, I may not always have the time, energy, or inspiration to do so. But I will try not to keep you waiting too long between updates, just know they may be sporadic at times.**

 **I hope you enjoyed this first chapter to _Medical Miracle 2_! I know I enjoyed writing it, and I am beyond happy to be able to finally continue this story.**


	2. Chapter 2

**AN: My apologies for not updating within two weeks like I had originally planned. I'm going to have to get used to being an adult and finding time to write fan fiction as well. It has been a challenge the past few weeks, because work has been fast-paced and crazy in a good way. I also just started working overtime, so needless to say I am exhausted when I come home in the evenings and writing is the last thing I feel like doing after I have spent 10 hours doing so already.**

 **With that being said, I am still excited to continue Brooke and Carlisle's story. I know the last chapter was slow, and I may take a little bit to pick up the pace, but we'll get to some excitement soon! I appreciate all of the lovely reviews you all wrote for me last time, thank you!**

 **As another small note, those of you who have not read the first _Medical Miracle_ may feel that Carlisle is a bit OOC in this story. If you feel that way, you're right, because he is. He's just a bit cockier in these stories, and I'm sorry I forgot to mention it before the first chapter!**

 **Enough about me, let's get to those two lovebirds in Forks…**

* * *

 **Chapter 2**

At first, it seemed like it was going to be a slow day for us, but shortly after lunch we suddenly found ourselves swamped with a rush of patients in the emergency room. It was a typical summer day for us, with the kids being out of school it seemed that someone fell out of a tree or crashed their bike into something about every five minutes.

What wasn't typical about the day is was the fact that we were short one nurse. Although that may not seem like a big deal, with the rush we experienced it was. As a result, I found myself too often torn away from assisting Carlisle so I could help out the nurses and even Gertrude as they tried to keep their cool in the midst of chaos.

Things finally slowed down toward the end of the shift, but I was still finishing up a few things for the nurses at the time. One of the younger, brunette nurses who didn't whisper about Carlisle and I near as often as the others had given me a tall stack of fresh bed linens to put in the empty rooms on the third floor. Even though I was almost on my way to the office at the time, I agreed to help out, and quickly dashed upstairs in hopes that Carlisle wouldn't have to wait too long on me.

I made my way into the last room on the floor, and as I went to hold the door open with my foot so I could wiggle inside without dropping the sheets, I found that someone was holding the door open for me. Of course, I knew who it was.

"Just curious," I said, looking up into his bright, topaz eyes, "is extreme quietness another specialty of yours?"

He laughed, and his cool breath fanned softly across my face. "You could say that."

I made my way inside the room and over to the bed, while he followed, his hands tucked into the pockets of his lab coat.

"Some day, huh?" I said, unfolding the sheet.

He nodded in agreement, "Most definitely. I sincerely apologize that we weren't able to spend more time together."

"It's alright, I suppose."

"Ha, you suppose? What…you don't like hanging out with the nurses?"

I laughed, "Well, no it's not that I don't like hanging out with the nurses, I just like hanging out with you more."

"Why thank you," he said, smiling in satisfaction.

"Oh stop it," I said in response, turning my head away from him to hide the fact I was blushing.

My attempt was obviously a failure, because I heard him laughing as he walked closer to me and started pulling a pillowcase over one of the pillows.

"Maybe," I said, trying to regain my composure, "it may be a good thing for me to be seen away from you more often."

"Yes, maybe I should constantly delegate you out to assist others, like poor Gertrude out there. We could even start working separate shifts, request transfers to other hospitals…"

"Oh shush, you know that's not what I was talking about," I said, elbowing him before reaching forward to grab another pillowcase. "You know, back when I thought you were in your forties, I just assumed you had a youthful spirit, or that I made you feel young or something, because of the way you like to tease me. But now that I know you're really only three years older than me, it makes a little bit more sense."

"Ah yes, the joys of being forever young," he said, leaning over and kissing me gently on the cheek.

"You're making me do it again."

"Do what?"

"Blush."

"I like making you do that. It's cute," he said, kissing me on the cheek again, as if to prove a point.

"It's embarrassing," I said, but I didn't shrug away. _Who in their right mind would_?

"Well I'm sorry I embarrass you darling. So much so it seems that you'd rather spend time working with the nurses than me."

I couldn't help but laugh. "Would you let that go already?"

"Never."

"You're impossible," I said, finally gathering up the strength to move away from him so I could tuck in the sheet on the other side of the bed. "But while we're talking about how much time we spend with one another; do we have a plan yet for how we're going to reveal our status some day? Or was that something you conspired over with the children while I was knocked out cold."

"Yes the children and I agreed that on New Year's Eve Emmett will go to the busiest bar he can find in Forks and announce to the entire crowd that you and I plan to elope to Vegas the next day. That way most people will be too drunk to remember what was said, and the whole arrangement can be taken care of in secret."

"Impressive," I said, looking up at him. "Did you just pull that out of thin air?"

"Actually, no that was something Emmett mentioned, but that was more like this morning, and of course I think it's absurd."

"But did you tell him that?"

"No I kind of tried to shrug him off. Alice, however, let him know exactly what she thought about the idea."

"Knowing what she probably said, I would have to agree with Alice," I said, straightening out the last few wrinkles.

He walked over to one of the chairs by the window and sat down. "In all actuality, I have been giving it some thought. Because yes, I feel we should have some sort of established plan in place."

I walked over toward the window and sat down in the chair next to him. "What were you thinking?"

"Well," he said, tilting his head and smiling at me. "It's all so complicated."

"Gee, I never would have guessed."

He laughed a little, and turned around so that he could face me better. "For starters, we have to figure out how long is an appropriate length of time for me to stay single before I start seeing other people. I think, if we really try to plant the seed about how unhappy I was with Vivienne, and how devastated I was when she left me for someone in New Zealand…"

"New Zealand?"

"Well do we want to tell them my other girlfriend ran her over in my car, or do we want to lie a little bit?" he asked with a smirk.

"Oh we can lie a little bit, I just wondered why New Zealand."

"Now that, my dear, is something I pulled out of thin air."

I smiled and shook my head. "Alright, so Vivienne cheated on you and left for New Zealand?"

"Precisely. If that seed gets planted and enough people start talking about it, then it gives me the ability to move on in a shorter amount of time. Now, the fact that I will be moving on with you is what makes things tricky, because there has already been suspicion about the two of us for some time now."

"Right, so what's your solution for that?"

"I say we slowly start showing open signs of flirtation in front of other people, especially here at work. If Gertrude suspects even the slightest thing the whole town will soon know we've built up a flirtation and interest. If it's something that seems to be the beginnings of a newly budding relationship, people will hopefully be a bit more receptive. It will make it seem as though we are taking our time and I'm not just giving into the rebound or chasing a 'fresh piece of tail,' as one of my sons would say."

"Emmett?"

"Yes, I'm sorry," he said, smiling at me apologetically. "I told him it wasn't appropriate for him to call you that."

"No, I actually find it funny," I said.

"Well good, because he apparently did as well," he said, shaking his head and chuckling a bit. "I say if we follow that pattern, and as long as there isn't any major negative backlash, we could go on an official first date sometime around our actual anniversary in October."

"Oh how ironic."

"I know, right?"

"But, what are we going to do about the perceived age difference, and the whole issue of me being your employee?"

"Those are the things I think people will react against the most, maybe even more so than my moving on from my relationship with Vivienne, since we're going to try and control how they perceive that whole ordeal. Honestly, they can deal with the age issue because it's only a number, as they say. The whole boss and employee thing is more of a moral issue I guess than anything else. But I'm in charge here, so it's not like I can fire myself for being in a relationship with you."

"Well I guess that makes sense," I said. "But can you fire me for being in a relationship with you?"

"Most certainly. Miss Jeffers your behavior with me in my office is completely unprofessional. I want you to pack up your things and save such behavior for my office at home instead."

Now he really had me blushing. "Oh shush."

"I was proud of myself for that one."

"Another thing you pulled out of thin air?"

"Yes indeed," he said, looking awfully proud of himself. "In a nutshell, those things are going to make people talk, but I hope once they see how happy I am with you, how much I light up around you, that they realize the relationship is the best thing for the beloved doctor in Forks."

"You have quite the opinion of yourself."

"Is it an accurate one? Or am I mistaken?"

"No, you are not mistaken."

"That's what I thought," he said, seeming pleased. "It's not a foolproof plan, but the one that makes the most sense to me. Vivienne was the main thing holding us back before, and now that she's gone I don't really think that a few rumors or negative comments will have any impact on how our relationship proceeds from here."

"That's true," I said, and it really did seem as though his plan could work. But I still had one question in mind. "Now, not to jump the gun here, but since we'll be going on our first date in October, which is our actual one-year anniversary, how long are we going to have to wait before we'd take the next step in our relationship?"

"You mean sleeping together? Well Brooke I mean I have old-fashioned morals but maybe for you I could make an excep…"

"No, no, no," I said, blushing once again. "You know what I mean!"

He laughed. "You're talking about an engagement?"

"Yes, an engagement," I said, trying to hide my beet-red face in my hands.

"My dear I would propose to you right now in this very room if I had a ring and that was at all socially acceptable."

"Well you don't have to right now. But will it have to be another year or two still?"

"I'd say, if we make it extremely obvious after the first date that we are absolutely smitten with one another, it wouldn't be entirely inappropriate for me to pop the question within less than a year's time."

"Less than a year?" I said, looking up at him in surprise. "I was fully expecting you to say we should wait a few years."

"Well, I'm not getting any younger you know," he said with a smile.

"Yes, you're not getting any older either."

"True, true. But to the innocent citizens of Forks I'm a man that's already been through my mid-life crisis. If I want to settle down with my young love interest then I need to do it soon."

"You really think people will be alright with you going from single, to dating, to engaged in a matter of months?"

"Maybe they won't be. But at this point, I quite frankly don't care. I want to spend my life with you and a few gossipy fishermen and nurses aren't going to stop me."

"That's so romantic," I said.

"Thank you, I try."

Now I was the one that was laughing, "So bam, an engagement in a matter of months and then?

"A wedding won't have to wait too long. I mean do you really feel like we need a long engagement?"

I shook my head, perhaps a bit too enthusiastically.

"Well then," he said with a smile, "that's settled. But also, when you consider the whole, more complicated, vampire side of things, the faster we can make things move, the better."

"Why, how does the vampire issue complicate things? I mean, beside the fact that you're a vampire and I'm not."

"Well yes, that's the whole issue, and a seperate one we'll really need to sit down and address sometime. But it's something I just don't feel like getting into for a while yet."

"A separate issue?"

"Yes, one that I don't want to concern you with at the present time." I must have given him some kind of look, because he decided to elaborate. "In a nutshell, you are mortal. I'm not. You are going to keep aging. Eventually, you'll become older than me. And then eventually, if things stay the way they are…"

"Oh, I never thought of it like that," I said, the realization of it all hitting me for the first time. "But how, is there a…"

"Yes, to put it simply. But that's what I don't want to concern you with right now. Let's just enjoy our newly budding relationship for the time being."

"Newly budding," I said, laughing a little. "I have to admit; it will be kind of fun to pretend I'm falling in love with you all over again."

"Yes it will be fun. Not many people get to experience falling in love twice," he said, standing up and extending his hands out to me to help me up. He pulled me tight into his embrace and kissed me.

"Of course," he said, resting his forehead against mine, "I fall in love with you every day."

"Did you pull that out of thin air too?" I said, sighing in delight.

"No darling," he said, kissing me once more. "That one came straight from the heart."

Honestly, I didn't care what "complications" the future had in store for us. He was worth it.

 _More than worth it._

* * *

 **I LOVE these two so much! I know I've said it a lot already, but I can't wait to continue their love story and see how it unfolds. It's just as much fun for me as it is for all of you!**

 **I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. I apologize in advance if I don't update for a few weeks, but I hope I can get the next update up a bit faster than it took me to make this one!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Sorry everyone, I guess I was feeling a bit ambitious when I said I hoped to get an update posted every two weeks. I'm still working overtime at work...so all of that writing during the week just leaves my creative writing juices completely dry.**

 **So I appreciate those of you who have stuck with me, and I'm happy to bring you this new update in Carlisle and Brooke's story!**

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 **Chapter 3**

The next day when I showed up at work, I quickly learned that Carlisle had already started working on initiating the plan we had discussed the day before. That's because the second I walked in the door, I was greeted by Gertrude excitedly yelling from her desk.

"Brooke, oh Brooke," she called out to me, waving her hands to motion me over to her desk. "You won't believe what Dr. Cullen told me when he came in this morning!"

Alright, so here went nothing. I had to try my best to play along with whatever story Carlisle had conveyed to her. It was essential that I didn't screw up. I wasn't sure if I could keep from doing that though.

"What did he tell you Gertrude?" I asked, resting my belongings on top of her desk.

"He may have told me this in confidence, but I felt like I just had to share it with you," she said, scooting her chair a bit closer to me. "So you know how he was dating that girl, Vivienne right?"

"Yes, I met her a few times," I said. What I didn't tell Gertrude is that the sound of her name still gave me chills every time I heard it.

"Well, I haven't seen her around here in a while or even heard Dr. Cullen talk about her, which I thought was strange. But this morning, he let me know that I no longer need to take any calls from her, because they broke up."

"Oh no," I said, trying my best to sound upset. "That's too bad."

"That's what I said at first too, but he told me they actually broke up months ago," she said, before her eyes grew wide behind the metallic gold frames of her glasses. "Apparently, Vivienne suddenly called things off after she came back from a trip a few months ago. She said she fell in love with another man she met in New Zealand and she was leaving to go live with him there."

"How awful," I said, and at least my anger sounded genuine, since I knew all too well that Vivienne had indeed left Carlisle for other men many times before.

"That's what I said," Gertrude replied in response. "How could anyone in their right mind ever want to leave Dr. Cullen once they have him?"

"No idea," I said, trying to keep my responses short. "Dr. Cullen must have been devastated."

"He said he expected it to upset him more than it did, but he realized he had been falling out of love with her for some time. It seems that she had cheated on him more than once before, and it just became too much for him to handle."

"Then why did he stick with her for so long?" I asked.

"He thought it was the right thing, and he said he did it for the sake of the children."

I felt myself shiver. If only Gertrude knew the _true_ reason why Carlisle stayed with Vivienne for "the sake of the children."

"Well I am glad to hear he doesn't have her holding him down anymore," I said. "I thought he seemed a bit more carefree lately."

"Yes, I thought so too," she said, smiling. "You know what else he told me? He's already open to the idea of dating again."

"That's good to hear," I said. "Hopefully he'll be able to finally find some happiness, because he certainly deserves it."

"I completely agree," she said, still smiling. "Brooke dear, if you don't mind my asking, are you seeing anyone?"

Oh boy. So far the conversation hadn't been too difficult to navigate, but now came the time where I had to lie, and I had to do so convincingly. I also had to do so in a way that could help, not harm, the plan Carlisle and I had set in place.

"Um, no not right now," I said. "Although, I have been talking to someone recently. I'm excited to see where that goes."

"Well, I think you should do some 'talking' with Dr. Cullen," she said, grinning even wider than before. "You two seem to get along quite swimmingly."

I laughed a little, trying to think of a good response to that. "Yes, we do get along well."

"I'm just saying," Gertrude said in a sing-songy voice. "I suppose I won't hold you back any longer dear, but I just knew I had to share that with you."

"Yes, thank you for telling me Gertrude," I said, already walking away from her desk. I wanted to get away from that whole situation as quickly as possible. I had wanted to get away from it minutes ago.

"Good luck!" I heard her call after me, as I quickly dashed down the hall and into Carlisle's office. He was in there, sitting behind his desk, and looked up at me when I walked in. I could tell from the dumb smile on his face that he could tell I had just finished talking to Gertrude.

"Hello there Brooke," he said, trying to sound professional as a few nurses walked by. "You can go ahead and close the door for a second."

I did just as he asked, perhaps a bit too enthusiastically, and he cracked up laughing as soon as the door clicked closed.

"So, we were a bit anxious to get our plan set in motion, weren't we?" I asked him.

He shrugged, "I figured the sooner, the better."

"Could you have maybe warned me first? I just had to fib my way through a conversation with Gertrude and listen to her tell me how I should start chasing after you now that you're single."

He laughed again, "I would have to agree with her advice, you really should start chasing after me before someone else snatches me up. Don't want to miss your chance."

"You're enjoying this too much," I said, walking over closer to him. He turned his chair around to face me and reached out for my hand.

"It's kind of fun. A lot more fun than all the type of lying we had to do before."

"I guess I can agree with you on that one," I said, looking down at our hands. "Just make sure you let me know before Gertrude when we're going on our 'first date,' alright?"

"That seems like a reasonable request," he said, planting a soft kiss on the top of my hand. "I'm sorry to run so fast after putting you through emotional turmoil this morning, but I have a lot of things to do on the fourth floor right now."

"Do you want me to work on all of this?" I said, gesturing toward some of the many piles of folders stacked up in his office.

"That would be wonderful, thank you," he said, standing up. "You know, I will never be able to understand how I can gather so many folders in such a short amount of time."

"Yes, and in such an unorganized way," I said laughing, before I suddenly heard my phone start ringing in my purse.

"Who could that be?" Carlisle asked.

"I'm not sure," I said, digging around in a pathetic attempt to find my phone. "Sandra knows I can't talk at work and besides your kids I don't really call anyone." I groaned when I heard the ding indicating I had missed the call, but I still couldn't find the phone.

"Well whoever it is, you can call them back while you're in here working. I don't think your boss will mind," he said, kissing my forehead. "I'll see you soon, okay?"

"Okay," I said, watching him as he quickly slide out the door and closed it behind him.

"Now where is that phone?" I said to myself, finally finding it buried under my wallet. When I looked to see who I missed a call from, I was surprised to see a familiar name on the screen.

I dialed the number and put the phone to my ear, as I sat down at Carlisle's desk and started working on alphabetizing the nearest stack of folders. After a few rings, the person on the other end of the line picked up, and I was greeted with an enthusiastic hello.

"Hey there baby cakes!"

I couldn't help but laugh, "Hey Lacey," I said, "What's happening?"

"Oh nothing much, just thought I'd give my favorite Washington girl a call. You should feel honored, cause I don't really like people. So to say that you're one of my favorite people, that's a big deal."

"Well Lacey of course I'm honored. Not only am I one of your best friends, but one of your favorite people. That makes me feel like a queen."

"As it should," she asserted. "Look, I'm sorry if you're at work or something, but I knew I just had to call you now."

"I am at work, actually," I said. "Is something wrong? Is everyone ok?"

I was relieved to hear her laugh. "Chill out sweetie pie, everyone and everything is fine. Well except for Lance, he still can't figure out how to use the damn toaster."

Now I was laughing too, remembering my other friend and Lacey's boyfriend Lance, both of whom I met while I was in Alaska earlier that year for the Alaska University Spring Medical Program. One morning while I was there, Lance had a particularly disastrous experience with the toaster that ended in flames.

"I am sorry to hear that about Lance, but glad to hear everyone is doing well," I said, "So what was it you wanted to call me about?"

"Well, I actually have some pretty exciting news sugar biscuit. And rather than beat around the bush, I'm just going to spit it out...Lance and I are getting married this summer!"

"Lacey that's fantastic news!" I said, losing complete interest in my alphabetizing. "So you two got engaged?"

"Oh hell no, I just finally told Lance we're getting married so he said this summer would work."

Now I was really laughing, "Am I supposed to say congratulations to that?"

"I wouldn't be offended if you did."

"Congratulations Lace," I said.

"Why thank you!" She responded enthusiastically. "Anyway, so we're thinking sometime in August, and it will just be a small shin-dig at the summer house here in Alaska. We're inviting very few people. I'm not even inviting my grandmother, that's how small we're talking here."

"Lacey shouldn't you invite your grandmother?"

"My mom seems to think so but my mom's not invited either so it doesn't matter what she says."

"Oh Lacey, how I've missed you."

"Thanks honey butter. Anyway, since you are one of my favorite people, I am inviting you, if you'd like to come."

"Of course I want to come! Why would I miss watching two of my best friends tie the knot?"

"Yay! Glad to hear it," she said. "And you know, if you'd like to bring someone along with you..."

I interrupted her, "Lace are you sure that's a good idea?" I asked. It's not that I was worried about being seen with Carlisle in Alaska. In fact, Lacey and Lance were some of very few people who already knew about our relationship. I knew there wouldn't be any problem with having Carlisle meet the two of them.

What I was worried about was having Carlisle meet Lance's brother, who was my other best friend...Adam.

After my "fall" a few months before, I had checked in with Adam to let him know all about it and let him know I was okay. He was fine during that conversation, but hadn't called or texted me since. I wondered if maybe he had finally moved on like I told him to, if he no longer had feelings for me and just wanted to cut me out of his life altogether now. Or was he just giving me my space? I wasn't sure, but one thing I was sure about was that a meeting between my boyfriend and the best friend who wished he was my boyfriend may not be a good idea.

"Oh are you worried about Adam?" Lacey asked, reading my mind. "Don't be. He's a moron any way, and if he can't handle you being here with your sexy doctor boy toy, then he's uninvited."

"No Lacey that's not necessary, don't uninvite him, " I said. "I would be more than happy to bring Carlisle to meet all of you, but I just don't want to upset Adam, you know? I've hurt him so much already."

"I mean, I suppose I can see how that would be upsetting to him, but he needs to grow a pair."

"Lace, how is he?" I asked. "I haven't heard from him in a while."

"Oh he's fine," she said. "He's went on a few dates but never brings the girls home. He still flirts like he always did and is still a show off and a major asshat. I wouldn't say he's sad, but he's not finding anyone that makes him happy, if that makes any damn bit of sense."

For once, Lacey did make sense. Either that or I was just too used too her way of explaining things. "So basically what you're saying is he's still hung up on me?"

"Yeah, that's what I'm saying."

"You really think so?"

"Sugar britches I know so, he talks to me you know."

"About what?"

"About how much he misses you. About how he knows he should get over you, but he can't. About how he wants to rip your boyfriend's gorgeous, unnatural topaz eyes out of his face..."

"Lace!"

"Oops, sorry. I thought I was supposed to tell you everything he talks to me about."

"You could have left that one out," I said, but I was laughing a bit.

"My bad!" She said. "Um, what else. Let's see...in a nutshell he's basically told me that he knows it's probably hopeless, but, and these are his words, not mine, he still thinks there's some underlying issues with your current relationship. He still has a bit of hope that you'll come running to him like you did there a few months ago. Only this next time, you'll stay."

I shuddered, remembering when I fled to Alaska to visit Adam following my grandfather's death, which was also right after Carlisle told me that he was a vampire. I didn't take the news well, and thought spending time with Adam would help clear my head so I knew how to proceed with Carlisle. It did just that, but looking back I know how much it messed Adam up.

Hearing what Lacey had to say only furthered those suspicions. I had shown Adam that if I had relationship issues, he was the one I'd run to. Because of that, I guess I couldn't blame him for holding out hope that if there was ever another issue, I'd come back to him again.

"Oh Lace," I said. "You realize how bad I feel about all this, right?"

"I do cutie cake, believe me. That's why I think maybe it would be a good thing if you brought Dr. Sexyton with you to my wedding. It might help Adam see that you're happy, that you're with a good guy, and maybe it will finally put him at peace."

I had to admit, she did have a bit of a point. Still, I couldn't help but think that a meeting between Carlisle and Adam would result in more negatives than positives. And for starters, I didn't even know if Carlisle would want to go.

Apparently I was silent for a while, because Lacey spoke up again. "Listen, think about it alright? Ask your love bug and see what he says. Either way, you're invited and I'll let you know more details in a very formal text message at some point in the next few weeks."

I smiled "Okay Lace, that sounds good."

"I won't distract you from your work any longer, so have a wonderful day button muffin."

"You as well Lace, you as well," I said, trying to sound chipper, "And congrats again!"

"Thanks bunches! And I will see you soon!" She said, and with that I heard the phone go dead on the other line.

I set the phone down on Carlisle's desk, and stared at the door, so many thoughts swimming in my head.

 _How was I going to handle this?_

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 **For those of you who haven't read the first _Medical_ _Miracle_ , I'm sure you're probably confused by the introduction of Lacey, Lance, and Adam. They were all crucial characters to the last story, particularly Adam, as I hope you were able to gather from this chapter. You will definitely be able to understand Brooke's relationship with Adam and her other friends better if you read the first story, but I will still try to make things as clear cut as possible so you can still follow along even if you don't. :)**

 **For those of you that do remember Adam, he's definitely going to be back in this story. I promised some drama, and bringing Adam back into the picture is the perfect source of drama.**

 **Hope you all enjoyed this update!**


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